7th Annual FTA Drug and Alcohol Program National Conference Presentations


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The DOT-Qualified Substance Abuse Professional (SAP): We Have the Smack
Speaker: Jon Speckman
Session Description: Am I supposed to know the SAP? Can we do extra follow-up tests? My SAP can put a Friday positive back to work on Monday, right? Can my SAP require a Marijuana positive to go to alcohol treatment? What’s the deal with an employee using Bath Salts or that “legal Marijuana?” Who has to explain “dropping your pants” for the return-to-duty and follow-up tests? Come learn the ins and outs of the DOT-compliant SAP process, the roles and limitations DAPM’s play, and learn what real follow-up testing is all about!
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Beginner Drug and Alcohol Program Manager (DAPM) Training George Gilpatrick and Joe Lofgren
Session Description: Learn about the history, basic requirements, and best practices of FTA drug and alcohol testing. This session is aimed at the true beginner, and will walk participants through the key steps required to build and maintain a complete DOT regulated employee testing program. Topics include: a regulatory overview, your company policy, categories of testing, and the return-to-duty process.
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How to Review Your Collection Site for Compliance
Speaker: Joe Lofgren
Session Description: Learn the ins and outs of mock collections with an FTA auditor. In this session, you will learn key strategies for gauging your collection site’s compliance, how to ask the right questions of your collectors, and how to follow up and maintain compliance. Topics include the review of federal forms, physical site security and integrity, and an in-depth discussion of new Part 40 requirements.
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Jeopardy: How Well do You Know the FTA Drug and Alcohol Program?
Speaker: Michael Redington
Session Description: Watch your peers participate in a Jeopardy!-style game show or request to be one of the contestants. Jeopardy!, one of the most popular game shows in history with its unique answer-and-question format will be revamped to showcase contestant knowledge of DOT and FTA drug and alcohol regulations. A panel of DOT/FTA rulemaking and audit team officials will serve as judges.

How to Save Money on Your Drug and Alcohol Program
Speaker: Michael Redington
Session Description: Maintaining a compliant FTA Drug and Alcohol Program doesn’t need to break the budget. This session will provide a variety of ways to reduce costs for your agency while maintaining the integrity of your program.
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Modernizing your FTA Compliant Program
Speaker: Diana Byrnes
Session Description: The practice of “blended learning” combines traditional classroom style training with technology-based materials. Participants of this session will be shown how to apply blended learning methods in their training program and to increase message retention through added entertainment value. The elements of an FTA compliant education and training program will be identified along with resources to assist agencies in implementing the blended learning technique.
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Pros and Cons of a Third Party Administrator (TPA)
Speakers: George Gilpatrick (FTA Auditor) and Carol Law (TPA)
Session Description: This session will discuss the use of TPA services, what TPAs can do for your system, and the advantages and disadvantages to using TPA services; including the push/pull between a good client/bad TPA and a good TPA/bad client. The session will also discuss the importance of a contract between the two and what specifically the contract should entail.
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Municipalities or Agencies Dispersing D&A Functions
Speaker: Joe Lofgren
Session Description: Is the management of your drug and alcohol program spread across many departments? Did HR just forward you a memo from Risk Management regarding an employee in Public Works who might transition into Transit, but you need to check with Payroll first about his job code status? In this session we'll discuss the pros and cons of the multiple-department program organization commonly found at municipally run transit entities, and share strategies for dealing with these structures in a way that promotes both efficiency and compliance.
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Post-Accident Thresholds and Scenarios
Speakers: Leila Procopio-Makuh
Session Description: This session will cover the FTA Post-Accident Thresholds and when agencies should and should not conduct an FTA post-accident test. In addition, session participants will be presented with a variety of testing scenarios.
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Troubleshooting for Drug and Alcohol Program Managers
Speaker: Ed VanderPloeg
Session Description: Join your colleagues from across the country as you attempt to solve a variety of testing scenarios. Each scenario is based on real-life audit findings, which will present new and unique ways to think about and utilize program knowledge and best practices. Scenarios will include post-accident testing, random testing, and others.
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Q&A with the Experts: FTA, FMCSA, and ODAPC
Speakers: Jerry Powers (FTA Drug and Alcohol Program Manager), Jim Keenan (FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Program Manager), Bohdan Baczara (ODAPC), and John Morrison (FTA Auditor)
Session Description: This session will consist of an open forum for asking questions of several DOT drug and alcohol industry experts.

The Most Common Audit Findings
Speakers: Lori John and Michael Sailsman
Session Description: Audit Team Members will point out the most common audit findings from across the country. The auditors will also solicit input from attendees who have had firsthand experience as a recipient of an FTA Drug and Alcohol Compliance Audit. This session will aid transit systems in avoiding common pitfalls, inefficiencies, and non-compliance.
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Reasonable Suspicion Training
Speakers: Robbie Sarles
Session Description: This two-hour session will cover the requirements for Supervisor Reasonable Suspicion training per 49 CFR Part 655.14 (b) (2). Those requirements include training on the physical, behavioral, and performance indicators of probable drug use, and the physical, behavioral, performance, and speech indicators of probable alcohol misuse. Certificates of completion will be provided upon session completion and will be mailed to participants.
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FTA vs. FMCSA: A Regulatory Comparison
Speakers: Jim Keenan and John Spelman
Session Description: Learn from key oversight personnel about the important commonalities and differences in the FMCSA and FTA testing regulations. Jim Keenan is the Program Manager for FMCSA’s Drug and Alcohol Testing Program, and John Spelman is a Senior Auditor in the FTA’s Drug and Alcohol Audit Program. Topics will include safety sensitive personnel designations, testing category overlaps and separations, and best practices for dual-program management.
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The Role of the Medical Review Officer (MRO)
Speaker: Dr. Greg Elam
Session Description: In this session, the speaker will discuss the role of the Medical Review Officer (MRO) under DOT rules and tell stories from his 15 years as a full-time MRO. Included will be specific information about drugs tested and current adulteration techniques. The session will also address the new rules as they relate to the MRO function.
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Why is March 15th Important? MIS Reporting and Website Resources
Speakers: Michael Redington, Felicity Shanahan, and Eve Rutyna
Session Description: Com Come to this session to learn how to fill out your Drug and Alcohol Management Information System (DAMIS) form online correctly and with ease. The session will also review common mistakes and misconceptions of reporters. Website resources will also be presented.
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DOT Drug and Alcohol Testing Updates
Speaker: Bohdan Baczara
Session Description: This session will outline the role of the Office of the Secretary’s Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance (ODAPC). In addition, this session will cover the Observed Collection Rule that went into effect August 30, 2009, as well as new DOT testing regulations that went into effect October 1, 2010 regarding the new Federal Drug Testing CCF that governs how laboratories are to report confirmed positive drug/drug metabolite quantitations to the MRO. Other current topics in relation to 49 CFR Part 40 will also be discussed.
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HHS-Certified Labs and the DOT Program
Speaker: Barry Sample
Session Description: Participants will learn Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) certified lab procedures to use once the lab receives a DOT specimen. This session will discuss validity testing, specific drug cutoffs, and fascinating positive drug test statistics regarding federally mandated employees vs. the general work force. The session will also cover hair and oral fluid testing and a matrix comparison between hair, oral fluid, and urine testing.
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You Can’t Fool Us! Catching the Cheaters
Speaker: Lorri Smith
Session Description: October 28, 2011 marked the 20th anniversary of the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act. Since the implementation of the law in 1991, illegal drug use among transportation workers has decreased and a subculture of cheaters has emerged. An entire industry has developed to assist individuals trying to beat the testing process. Employers and their Service Agents need to be aware of the ways individuals cheat and how to thwart attempts to circumvent the testing process. You will be introduced to the latest gadgets and gimmicks on the market, expose the myths associated with cheating and identify your role in ensuring the integrity of your testing program by recognizing attempts to beat the system.
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DOT Testing of Breath Alcohol Measuring Devices and Ensuing Legal Challenges & EBT Demonstration
Speakers: Manny Chavez and Ed Conde
Session Description: Ed Conde will discuss the Volpe Centers testing and approval of breath alcohol devices for inclusion on the National Highway Safety Administration’s (NHTSA’s) Conforming Products Lists (CPLs) of approved devices. The method of testing and approval of Evidential Breath Testers, Screeners, and Calibrators will be discussed. The requirement to use alcohol testing devices on the CPLs and the legal ramifications for Workplace Testing and police personnel will be clarified. Manny Chavez will be performing a mock Evidential Breath Testing (EBT) device at the end of the session.
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Collection Site Proficiencies
Speaker: Robbie Sarles
Session Description: In an effort to improve the quality of DOT urine specimen collections, this session will focus on the requirements for proficiency demonstrations that are required of each collector following their qualification training. The requirements as well as best practices will be presented. The session will also discuss common problems that have been identified and will present tools to aid monitors complete and document this critical component of the collector qualification process.
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The Grantee/Contractor Relationship
Speakers: Esther Avalos and Kate LeGrow
Session Description: This two person-panel includes both a DAPM of a top-10 FTA grantee responsible for the oversight of numerous safety-sensitive contractors as well as a manager of a national contractor that provides services to over 100 FTA-covered grantees across the country. The dynamics, common issues, need for open communication and a solid understanding of the grantee/contractor relationship will be discussed.
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Miami, Florida